Family Businesses in Saudi

I was so busy with a lot of tasks in the office for the past few weeks. I had single handedly arranged the ‘Family Business Sustainability Forum’ which is sponsored by our company. Well, single handedly is such a big word ha ha ha ha… I had to admit that my boss also played a very large part in that event. The good thing with my boss is that he knows a lot of people and he has a lot of connections. We can negotiate a deal without any glitch. That’s why in some of the business dealings, we really need the Arabs. They have a unique culture that the westerners and other cultures don’t have. These guys would just kiss each others cheeks and wallah! .. the deal is signed.


Most of the businesses in the Kingdom of the Sands are family owned. Family owned businesses flourished in the 70s when the Saudi government decided to diversify its economy. One of the best examples of those companies is Olayan. According to my boss, the Olayan’s are five times richer than the Zed’s. They also owned five percent (5%) of the American Express. There are numerous advantages and disadvantages of family owned businesses. Let’s leave it up to Peter Leach and Dr. Ben Harper (our speakers) to discuss those things. I think the most important point in their discussion is that family businesses have more compassion. It’s not like in the Public Companies where if a manager fail, they’ll fire him right away. If you are working in a family owned business like ours, you’ll notice that the Managing Directors or Presidents are look up to as the father of the employees. The owners look up to their subordinates as sons. The patriarchal values are absent to the publicly listed companies where everyone is geared towards profit. The dog eat dog word doesn’t exist in the family owned companies.

The speakers said that the first generation who established the business toiled hard. The second generation grows the business. The third generation, born in golden spoons squandered the business. That’s a proven fact since most of the case studies presented during the forum showed how some of the Italian family businesses were destroyed because of the infighting.

The purpose of the forum was to guide the families to professionalize their companies. We’re getting there but professionalizing the family owned companies, particularly our company is a very big word. We’ll leave it up to strategy people to take the first few steps. To me, the future of our company is in the hands of our future leaders … the Zed future Leaders who will one day run our company.

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Before the forum I had to visit Mövenpick Hotel to look at the venue and finalize all the arrangements. I must admit that the structure, interior and the façade are impressive. My only disappointment is their food. For me, nothing really beats Carlton Hotel when it comes to food. They have the best food in Eastern Province.

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Our event is a gathering of all the wealthy families in the Kingdom of the Sands. You’ll literally be rubbing elbows with Saudi’s rich and famous. My boss estimated the total assets of the participants to reach more than 100 Billion USD. I don’t know if that’s accurate though. I just wish that one day, like them, I’ll be attending this sort of gathering for the rich and famous.

God bless Haiti

I was speechless with the devastation that the earthquake brought to the impoverished country. The stench of death is everywhere and people are really hopeless and hungry. The series of political upheavals, hurricanes and now the killer earthquake made the BBC called Haiti as the most unlucky country in the world. Are the Haitians really that unlucky? Does it have to do with the name of their country? Can the Feng Shui experts turn this country around?

I think that what happened to Haiti is God’s way of reminding us that we’re insignificant. We’ve proven that during the series of disasters in the Philippines. It’s also a way to upset the population explosions in the world. Somebody has to die somehow, yes? That also explains why regardless how advanced our technology nowadays, doctors and scientists could still not find the fountain of immortality.

Going back to Haiti, disasters like this also brings out the best of humanity. People and countries the world over are helping each other. Tons of food and drugs are shipped to Haiti so that people there will suffer less. The United Nation, who have several casualties with the collapse of the UN Structure in Haiti also pledge several peace keeping forces and aid.

In trying times like this, we could only hope for the best. God bless Haiti.

Feeling good after a good fight

I’m no Manny Pacquiao so I’m not really saying that I’m good in boxing. What I can relate with the rest of the male species though is the thrill and fun of the boxing match. About 2 Wednesdays ago, my friend and I were walking near Ramah Supermarket when an Arab guy started to followed us. I would normally ignore it but he kept on saying something unintelligible. I was so irritated that I really want to do something but my friend was holding me. My patience was tried when he got closer to us. I throw my bag at him and throw him an upward punch. Unfortunately for me, I wasn’t able to anticipate his retaliation. He punched me and then runs away from us. I was hurt, yeah but it’s alright. At least I thought that guy a lesson.

In my almost a decade here in the Kingdom of Sands, I’ve punched several people who got into my way. In Al Khobar alone, I think I’ve punched around 5-6 Arabs. The rest were in random and mostly happened in Dammam. The thing with the Arabs is that they don’t really know how to fight. I mean, fight using their fists. I’ve witnessed several fighting between Arabs or between Indians and all they do is call each other names. Fighting Filipino style is totally different. Suntokan, tadyakan at matirang matibay. The good thing with Filipino fight is that you’ll feel good right after. Kahit na duguan ka pa o nasaktan ka, masarap ang pakiramdam. I think it’s the testosterone that makes us feel good after a good fight. Kaya nga siguro Filipino people are really fond of boxing.

When I look back at what happened last Wednesday, I just could not understand why Arabs lost their respect to us (Filipinos). We’ve really tried our best to work hard here yet we still could not gain the respect that we deserved. May kinalaman ba ito sa mga extracurricular activities that our kabayans do? I’ve heard several unpleasant stories about our kabayans but I don’t want to be judgmental. The only problem with having those extracurricular activities is that it will affect our fellow kabayans. It would be alright kung ang mababastos ay iyong mga salarin din. Ang kaso, yong mga wala namang kaalam alam ang nadadamay.

Ang sa akin lang, just as long as these Arabs would not irritate me, I’ll just stay calm. Kung hindi basi masumbagan ko naman sila!

Dinagyang 2010

It’s has been a decade since I last witnessed the Dinagyang Festival in Iloilo City. I admit that it’s one of the events that I missed most. The Dinagyang Festival is celebrated every fourth Sunday of January. It’s supposed to be celebrated every 3rd Sunday of January in honor of the patron saint Senior Santo Niño of Cebu. However, by tradition, the Santo Niño of Cebu has to grace the Dinagyang Festival. The priests of the Order of San Agustin have to delay it for one week for logistic reasons.

Based from the write ups and the firsthand account of my friends and family, Dinagyang has become one of the most awaited tourism events in the country. What Dinagyang sets apart from its rival festivals in the country is its superb performance, world class choreography and colorful costumes. Dinagyang Festival also has several events before the proper Dinagyang Festival such as the Food Fest, and the Kasadyahan Festival.

As you all know, Ilonggos love to eat so the Food Festival is one of the most awaited event in Iloilo. Baw kanamit guid. My sister also told me that most of the bands that play in Dinagyang nowadays are Manila based.

The Kasadyahan Festival on the other hand is a pre Ati-Ati event. It consists of dancing and themed performances. It’s even said that the Kasadyahan Festival cannot even be compared to Cebu’s Sinulog, Davao’s Kadayawan or Bacolod’s Masskara.

I really missed the Dinagyang Festival. I missed the merry making and the food festival. I promised myself that I’ll be in the future Dinagyang Festivals. To my fellow Ilonggos from the world over to enjoy the Dinagyang Festival. Hala Bira!